Because you are a good mom

My three year old, Harper, loves to play dolls. She loves pretending to be a mommy and mothering things. She has countless dolls she feeds, takes shopping, and wraps in blankets for bedtime. She likes to remind everyone in the house multiple times a day that she is Blue’s mom (Blue is our dog).

And as she’s playing, I often compliment her on what nice things she’s doing; I tell her how gentle she is with her babies, how kind she is to them, how loving it is when she snuggles them. I tell her that she is a good mom.

Every single time I say this to her, her response is “I know.”

She knows that she’s a good mom, that she’s taking good care of her babies, and that she’s good at loving them. Even if she’s currently making her babies sleep in a laundry basket and one of them is covered in marker. Even when none of them are clothed and one of them is upside down in the highchair. She has no doubts that her mothering skills are sufficient and enough.

So here’s what Harper and I want to remind you today: YOU ARE A GOOD MOM.

And if someone happens to tell you that today (and I pray they do), don’t talk yourself out of it or make a joke of it. Say I know even if it’s just in your head and ride that compliment all day long. Even if you happen to make your baby sleep in a laundry basket, all your kids are covered in blue marker, and someone is upside down in his/her highchair.